The Web
by Leesa Perrie
Summary: Set towards the end of Season Two McKay wakes up alone and imprisoned...


**The Web  
By Leesa Perrie**

_I hear the sound of the ticking of clocks  
Come back and look for me  
Look for me when I am lost  
And just a whisper, whisper, whisper, whisper_

_Lyrics from 'A Whisper' by Coldplay_

He awoke to darkness, and confusion, and fear. His arms were tied behind his back and his ankles were tied together. No, not tied. It wasn't rope, but metal cuffs that held him tight. And he was blindfolded, and gagged. And terrified.

He had no idea where he was, or who had taken him. No idea if he was alone, or if his team were also prisoners. He couldn't hear anyone nearby. Distant sounds of people moving, but nothing close. No sounds of breathing. Nothing but his heart thundering in his ears.

And pain. His arms hurt from being held behind his back. His head hurt badly, and the gag cut into the sides of his mouth, a mouth that was as dry as any desert.

They'd been exploring a planet, he remembered. Just one of many. He hadn't picked up any energy readings, and so wasn't too interested in being there. They'd found a village, deserted. It looked like a culling had taken place some time ago, and they could find no survivors. If there had been any, they had clearly moved on. He didn't blame them.

And then…he shuddered at the memory. A dart. He'd been hit with a dart. Must have knocked him out, because the next thing he remembered was waking up here. Had the others been taken as well? Probably. But where were they? Where was he? Who had done this, and why?

He could feel himself starting to hyperventilate, and strove to calm his breathing. If only he could see…or move…or even speak, damn it. Anything but lying here like this, just waiting. Waiting for who knew what…no, don't go there. At least whoever had attacked had wanted him alive, hopefully the others were alive as well. He had to assume they were. He couldn't face the alternative. But just because they had wanted him alive, didn't mean he would stay that way. Or that he wouldn't be hurt.

No, really, don't go there. Just wait. Concentrate on breathing. In… out… slowly… calmly.

A door opened nearby him with a loud clang. He jumped. And then there were boots approaching, and hands grabbing him, pulling him up. He was thrown over someone's shoulders and carried out. He tried to talk, to scream, to hit out. But he was no match for the one carrying him, or those around him. And no one spoke.

He was carried for a few minutes, and then thrown onto a hard surface. Then there were more hands, undoing the cuffs that held his hands behind him and re-securing him. Doing the same to his ankles, until he was spread-eagled on the surface. He had fought them, but to no avail. There were too many of them, and they were too strong. A strap or rope was placed over his chest and another across his thighs, securing him further. And again, no one spoke.

He was seriously freaking out. Seriously. This was just too scary, too strange, too frightening…

And then his arm was grabbed, held tight, and something was injected into him…

* * *

…when he awoke again, he was back at the village. All was quiet. He soon realised he was unrestrained, with no blindfold or gag. He sat up carefully, his head ached abominably. He squinted at his arm, seeing a puncture mark. He couldn't remember what had happened to him after they had drugged him, and that was really freaking him out.

And where was his team? Sheppard, Teyla, Ronon…he couldn't see them. Had they been taken? Were they still prisoners? Or had they…left. No, they wouldn't have left without him. If they knew he was missing, they'd wouldn't stop looking for him. They would have brought reinforcements in, to look as well.

His gear had been taken. He was left with just his clothes, and even then he was missing his jacket. He rubbed his arms, becoming aware of the decreasing temperature.

Okay, he had to head to the gate. Had to…okay, he couldn't contact Atlantis. No radio, no GDO…so, the Alpha site. Okay, that was the plan.

* * *

It took him ten minutes to reach the gate, and the temperature was quickly falling. Chilling him to the bone. He dialled the Alpha site and stepped through…

But the Alpha site was abandoned. That was so wrong…the site had only been set up a couple of days ago. They wouldn't have moved on yet, not for another three weeks or so. Not unless something had happened to compromise it, but even so…they couldn't have packed up that quickly. Unless…

Oh crap, how long had he been held? It couldn't be weeks, could it? He hadn't lost weight as far as he could tell, or show signs of having been held for that long. So…

He had no idea where the next Alpha site would be.

He could dial Atlantis, but they wouldn't know the address of the gate he dialled in from, and without a radio he couldn't tell them. He couldn't do through without contacting them, not unless he wanted to have an up close and personal, not to mention fatal, experience with the gate shield.

So, what was he going to do? Other than panic…and panic was definitely an option here. He needed to go home. He was afraid of what had been done to him. He didn't feel different, but he knew something must have happened. People don't grab you and tie you down for no reason.

Maybe he should go back to the planet they'd been exploring? Hopefully someone would come from Atlantis at some point. Unless he'd been missing for longer than he realised, and they had given up the search. But staying here was pointless. But going back there…he might be grabbed again. But…

He couldn't decide. He felt confused. This was just so not fair.

He chose to go back to the planet. He would just have to be careful. And hope that someone from Atlantis came through to search for him. Hope that the others weren't still prisoners, and were still looking for him.

* * *

The planet was colder now, night was falling along with the temperature. He headed back to the village, hoping to find shelter. Maybe blankets. Food would be good, but not likely. One step at a time. Warmth first.

The village seemed as deserted as when he had left it. He entered one of the huts, looking for and finding some blankets, and a bed. He shook the blankets, and then pulled them around him, not really caring about dust and dirt right now. He huddled down on the bed, unsure of what to do next. After a while, tiredness pulled at him and he fell asleep…

* * *

It was morning, and the temperature was rising. He was still cold, and kept a blanket around his shoulders as he left the hut. He found a place to relieve himself, and then headed for the well. He could only hope that the water was okay to drink, but it wasn't like he had much choice. Well, unless he wanted to die of dehydration. Which he didn't.

The water was cool and clear, and refreshing. It helped to clear his head a little, though the headache was still very much in evidence. He needed food. But he had no idea what was safe to eat on this planet. He checked out some of the huts, and found some animal traps. He would have to set them and hope the local wildlife was edible. He couldn't be sure, but would just have to hope for the best. Only not yet, not until he was desperate. Which would be sooner than for most people because of his damned hypoglycaemia.

There was no sign of his team, or anyone else for that matter. He was alone. More alone than he'd been for a long, long time. Alone and confused and very, very afraid.

He spent the day exploring the village and surrounding area, but never straying far, so that he wouldn't get lost. He gathered some wood, though he wasn't sure how to start a fire. He knew the concept, but had never tried rubbing wood, or rocks, together to cause a spark. He knew he needed kindling for the spark to light, but was far from confident he would be able to achieve anything easily. It wasn't too cold, so long as he kept a blanket wrapped round him, and he'd save the fire starting lessons for later. He was hoping he wouldn't need to try.

But no one came through the stargate.

As the days passed, he learnt to start a fire, and was even able to catch some of the local wildlife and cook it. He was surviving. Just.

* * *

He had made a note of the days as they passed. He felt that the days were shorter here than on Earth or Atlantis, but not by a lot. Maybe somewhere around eighteen to twenty hours? He wasn't sure. But he knew he had been here five of this planet's days. And no one had come. He was beginning to believe no one would. That he would spend the rest of his life on this planet, alone. And that would be such a waste of his talents, his intelligence.

He spent a lot of his time thinking about Atlantean technology, about theories and ideas…It helped, a little, but he was frustrated by not being able to write anything down. He had found no writing equipment in the village.

He was beginning to think he should dial somewhere else. But where?

And then it was like a light bulb switching on in his head. That planet with the kids. They were in contact with Atlantis. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this before. He blamed it on the constant headache. He felt confused. Perhaps it was as well he couldn't write down his theories, he suspected they wouldn't make sense to anyone else. He suspected he wasn't thinking clearly. No, he _knew_ he wasn't thinking clearly. He should have thought of this days ago…

* * *

He walked towards Keras' village. He wasn't surprised when a group of kid warriors appeared in front of him as he neared it. One of them recognised him, and he was led towards the village to meet with Keras. He was certain they had asked him questions, but things were beginning to get very fuzzy. His headache was growing to blinding proportions. He stumbled, and would have fallen if two of the warriors hadn't grabbed him, and held him up.

He didn't remember passing out. Or being carried back to the village on a litter.

Nor did he remember the arrival of his team a short while later, or being carried back to the gate. Or being taken to the infirmary. He remained unconscious throughout it all…

* * *

This time, when he awoke he realised that he was back. On Atlantis. Home. Safe.

He still felt a little fuzzy and confused, but more clear headed than for days. The headache had eased, which was good. He sighed, closing eyes he was only vaguely aware of having opened.

There was movement next to him, causing him to reopen his eyes quickly, and a tired looking Beckett, with a bruise across his right cheek, came into view.

"Carson?" he managed to croak, before a coughing fit hit him.

Beckett grabbed some ice chips, and offered him some once he'd stopped coughing. They were wonderful.

"How are you feeling?" Carson asked.

He closed his eyes again, leaning back against the pillows, and thought about it for a moment.

"Safe," was what slipped out. It wasn't what he had wanted to say, at least not out loud. He opened his eyes again. "A little confused."

"Aye, that will be from the drug in your system. It's nearly worked its way out, but there's still a few traces left."

"What drug?" he asked, starting to feel panicky.

"I'm not sure. Maybe you should tell me what you remember, and then I'll fill in the blanks for you?"

"Um…okay." He thought for a moment, and then told Carson about waking up a prisoner, about being taken somewhere and injected with something, about waking up back at the village, checking the Alpha site, and then returning to the village. About being there for five days before thinking of going to M7G-677.

"I knew then that something was wrong with me. I should have thought of that straight away. And once I'd thought of it, I knew there were other planets I could go to, but couldn't remember the addresses. What's wrong with me?" He was desperately trying not to sound as panicked as he felt, but suspected Carson was fully aware of his fear. "And why am I in restraints?" Another little fact that had only made itself known part way through his story. And the fact that he hadn't noticed straight away was worrying. Very worrying.

"Easy, now."

"Don't 'easy, now' me! Just tell what they did to me, whoever they were!"

"Okay, but you need to calm down."

"I'm trying, really I am. It's just…"

"Scary?" Carson sat down on the bed next to his. "Okay, when you were on N8P-994, your team were attacked by an unknown force. When Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon recovered, they discovered you were missing. Obviously, they let us know what had happened and started to search for you."

"You couldn't find me."

"No, we couldn't. Radek was able to get about fifty addresses from the DHD, but that's a lot of places to search."

"Just like when Ford captured us. Too many addresses," he sighed in frustration. "There has to be a way to narrow it down, but we haven't found it yet."

"Aye, and it has taken a long time to search, and although we started with all our teams out searching, we had to cut it back after a while due to other circumstances. But we never stopped looking. You need to know that. We never gave up."

"How long?"

"Eleven weeks and three days, more or less," a voice came from behind him.

"Colonel. I was about to let you know Rodney had woken up."

"Thanks." Sheppard walked round, and settled on the bed just down from Carson. "Beckett's right, McKay. We never stopped looking. Never gave up."

"Over two months?" Rodney was shocked. "I knew it had to be longer than a few days, but…eleven weeks?"

The colonel shot Beckett a concerned look.

"Rodney doesn't remember much between being captured and waking up back at the village he was taken from," Carson explained.

"Oh, that…that sucks."

"You think?" Rodney said. "What the hell happened to me?"

Sheppard looked at Beckett again. Carson sighed.

"You have two implants in you."

"What?" Rodney paled. "Where?"

"One is in your back, close to the base of your spine, and the other…is in your brain."

"My brain?" He closed his eyes. "No, no, no, no, no, this cannot be happening."

Sheppard came over to stand near him, and placed a hand on his arm.

"We'll figure this out, McKay. You'll be fine."

"You don't know that!" He turned to look at Carson. "Do you know what these implants are? What they do?"

"Partly. The one in your back was releasing a drug into your system over a period of time. It's also transmitting some kind of electrical impulses, which seem to be related to the implant in your brain. As for what that is for, or what it does, I'm afraid we don't know yet."

"Can you remove them?"

"It would be possible to remove the one in your back. However, the one in your brain…it appears to have a network of tendrils around and inside your brain. A sort of web. We don't have the technology to remove it surgically, and Hermiod says that the tendrils are too many and too small to be removed by the beaming technology. Not knowing how the one in your back is related to it, we daren't remove that one either. Both Radek, the science team and Hermiod are working on this. As am I."

"And the drug?" He was trying to hold his panic down. But the more he heard, the more he was afraid. Truly, dreadfully afraid.

"It seems that the implant had opened to allow the next dosage out just as you entered the EM field on M7G-677, causing it to remain open. You received the entire drug that was left in it. Fortunately it appears there were only three dosages left, but even so, it overloaded your system. That's why you collapsed."

"You were confused when you first woke up," Sheppard said quietly. "Didn't know who you were, where you were, or who we were."

"You became…agitated. Hence the restraints."

"Agitated?" Rodney asked, and then looked at the bruise on Beckett's face. "Did I do that? Did I hit you?"

"Aye, lad, you clocked me a good one. But it wasn't your fault. You were confused and afraid."

"Did I hurt anyone else?" he asked, scared at the thought of what he might have done.

"Well, I have a couple of bruises, but other than that, no. Ronon happened to come in when you were…freaking out. He shot you. It was set on stun, of course."

"He shot me?" his voice squeaked slightly at that.

"Yes." Sheppard smiled sadly. "He didn't want to hurt you, or let you hurt yourself."

"Oh. Just hope he didn't enjoy it too much."

"I don't think enjoyment came into it." Sheppard looked him in the eyes. "We've been worried about you. All of us."

"Oh." He was silent a moment, taking that in. "How long have I been back?"

"Three days," Carson said. "But now that the drug is mostly gone, I think it should be safe to remove the restraints."

"Is that wise? You don't know what these implants are for. I could be dangerous."

"That's why we have a couple of guards with stunners nearby. And you'll have an escort when you're released from the infirmary. Just until we get a better idea of what has been done to you." John looked unhappy about the precautions.

"That's okay. Understandable. I…I don't want to do anything bad…and until we know what this is all about…" Rodney sighed. "It's the sensible thing to do."

"Doesn't mean I like it," Sheppard said.

Carson had removed the restraints during this.

"Okay, I need to do some tests." He looked at Sheppard. "You can wait outside. I'll let you know when I'm done."

"No," Rodney started, and stopped when they stared at him. "I mean, he can stay. If that's alright."

Carson studied him for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay, just stay out of the way."

"Will do."

* * *

The following day, Beckett released him to his quarters. He wasn't allowed to work on anything. In fact, his room had been searched, and his laptop and other equipment removed. Until they knew how the implants affected him, he was a security risk. And allowing him access to Atlantis' systems was not a good idea.

The guards remained outside his door, thankfully, but he was soon bored. The confusion had receded quickly, along with the headache that had been plaguing him. He decided to find Zelenka, maybe he would be allowed to check out the work so far on the implants. After all, if he was supervised, and he winced at the thought of that, then he couldn't do much harm, if any. And he might be able to help.

The guards didn't seem happy with him as he approached the lab area. They didn't stop him, but were tense and more alert, he noticed. Okay, this was officially 'not fun' now, but he knew he had to put up with it. Would have insisted on it if it hadn't already been done. The thought of unknown implants doing unknown things to his brain was terrifying. More terrifying in many ways than anything else he'd been through since coming to Atlantis, and that was saying a lot.

When he entered the lab, Zelenka looked up, startled to see him.

"Rodney, why are you here?"

"I…I wanted to see if I could help. With the implant thing. Figured that should be safe for me to work on, if I'm…supervised." Damn, how he hated that word.

"I am not sure if Dr Weir would agree."

He looked around the lab, anywhere but at Radek, trying to work out how to explain things.

"Radek, I…need to be doing something. I'm…terrified. I sit in my room, wondering what is happening to me…scared that something really bad is going to happen…I _need_ to do something. Anything." He looked at him, hating to admit to his fear, but needing Radek to understand.

"I see." Radek was surprised at Rodney's openness. But he could understand the fear. He could not imagine how he would feel in Rodney's place. He didn't even want to consider it. "Let us go and see her now. I think we can put in place enough security for her to agree." Radek pushed his glasses up, and stood. "I will agree to check your work, yes?"

"Yes." Rodney looked relieved. "I wouldn't want anyone else to." He smiled self-consciously, and looked away. "Thanks."

"Is okay. I would not want to be in your shoes," Radek paused. "That is, I would wish no one to be where you are."

"Nor would I," Rodney agreed quietly.

They left to see Elizabeth.

* * *

It was agreed that Rodney would have access to a laptop whilst in the lab, but would only be allowed to work on the implant information, nothing else. And that Zelenka would check regularly what he was doing, and ensure he was not allowed to connect to any other systems. The other scientists were to keep a discreet eye on him as well, though this bit of information was withheld from Rodney. There would be two guards in the lab at all times when McKay was there, armed with stunners.

Rodney was just glad to be doing something.

Two more days passed with no incidents. Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon made sure to spend time with McKay when he wasn't in the lab. Keeping him occupied, and reassuring themselves that he was truly back. From the time they had awoken and found him gone, until the time they had collected him from Keras' village, they had been terrified that they wouldn't be able to find him. Worried that he was hurt, or dead. Desperate to find their missing team member, and their friend, annoying though he could be. And refusing to take a replacement member onto the team.

Rodney was touched by their obvious concern. Touched and scared as well. He wasn't used to people caring about him to this degree. He was getting better with it. Getting more used to the idea, but even now, after all this time, he still had moments when he felt it was all too good to be true. That they were only faking the concern. He knew it wasn't the case, but he had been betrayed by so-called friends before, and old habits and fears died hard. Very hard, sometimes. But the fact they were genuinely concerned for him helped to break through some of the remaining barriers, which scared him when he thought about it too much. And when he thought about the implants, and what they might be doing to him, he became even more scared. Terrified that he would do something to hurt the very people who cared so much for him. Of betraying them, even if it was against his will.

He threw himself into the work. Trying to find something to tell them what the implants were for. Trying to find a way to remove them. Desperate not to harm any of his friends and co-workers.

But on the third day, he didn't go to the lab. He went out to a balcony and stared out over the sea. He didn't know how long he had been there for, time just seemed to disappear, but he knew it must have been hours. Then someone came and stood beside him, and it wasn't one of his guards.

"Hey, McKay." Sheppard, no doubt come to check if he was okay.

"Hey," he replied.

"So, what you doing?"

"Nothing," he said, sighing. "Just…nothing."

"Okay," Sheppard said, drawing the word out, "And that is _so_ like you. Not."

"I know. I just…" he paused. "I'm hearing things."

"Things?"

"Yeah, whispers. I can hear whispering in my mind, but can't hear the words."

"So you came out here to do nothing…but listen to the whispering?"

"I…don't know." He turned to look at the colonel. "I…"

"What?" John asked gently.

Rodney didn't reply, but turned to look out over the ocean again.

"Okay, you're seriously starting to freak me out here, McKay. I think we should go and see Beckett."

"No!" Rodney turned and looked at him, fear in his eyes. "No, please. I just want to be alone." He snorted softly. "Well, alone but for my escorts. I need to be alone. I can't explain it…I just…something bad will happen if I'm not alone."

"That doesn't make much sense to me," John said, reaching out and taking McKay by the arm. "I really think we should see Beckett."

The move took Sheppard by surprise. Rodney grabbed him, pulling him off balance and pushing him into the guards behind them. One of the stun weapons clattered across the deck. Rodney ran past them before they could react, picking up the fallen weapon. By the time they had untangled themselves, he was gone. Sheppard informed Elizabeth what had happened as he and the two guards took off after McKay.

* * *

He headed to the ZPM, shooting anyone who got in his way with the stun weapon. When he arrived at the room, he typed in a sub-routine and set it going. The ZPM powered down and Atlantis was plunged into darkness and chaos.

Using the distraction, he was able to make his way to the Control Room without too much problem. He shot the few people who tried to stop him. He used his innate knowledge of Atlantis and its corridors to his advantage, only using his flashlight when necessary, and feeling his way carefully when not.

He took out the guards, though one of them came close to shooting him, the bullet tearing through his shirt sleeve, but missing skin. He stunned the techs, and headed over to the control for the gate shield.

"Rodney," a voice came from Elizabeth's office, as she stepped out.

"Stay back," he said, aiming the weapon at her.

"Rodney, what are you doing?" she asked, trying to stall him, and moving a step closer.

"I said stay back!" he yelled.

Just then the power returned, as his sub-routine disabled itself, and a wormhole was established. The shield automatically activated, but Rodney reached out to deactivate it.

"No, Rodney. Don't. Please." Elizabeth moved closer to him.

He didn't want to shoot her. Even knowing it was only a stun weapon, he really didn't want to shoot her. But he had to open the shield. Had to let them through. They were ordering him to do it, insisting that he obey.

Elizabeth could see the war on his face.

"Rodney, you don't want to do this. I know you don't."

"Please," he hissed. "Stay back."

"No, I won't. You'll have to stun me, like everyone else."

"No, please." His hand moved closer to the shield control, but wavered.

Elizabeth continued to approach him. Damn it, why couldn't she stay back?

"I won't let you do this, Rodney. You know that."

"I…I…have to…"

"Fight it, Rodney. Please."

"No…I…can't…Have to do…have to…"

A red light hit him from behind and he fell. Elizabeth looked up into the eyes of Ronon.

"Thank you," she said.

"Don't," Ronon replied, looking less than happy at having to stun McKay yet again.

The wormhole disengaged.

* * *

His head was killing him. And then the memories returned. Yeah, his head was definitely doing something to him. Something bad. He moaned, and tried to move, realising he was in restraints again. He didn't blame them. He wouldn't have blamed them if he had awoken to find himself in that cell, the one they kept wraith in.

"Hey, Doc, he's waking up." He heard a familiar voice call. He opened his eyes, and sure enough, Sheppard was there, watching him.

"Hey, McKay, you had us worried there. You've been out for nearly two days."

He blinked. Two days? He wondered when time was going to stop disappearing on him like this.

"So, you going to say anything?" Sheppard asked, looking worried.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"Not your fault," Sheppard replied.

"No, it is. Should have known. Should have…fought it."

"But you did. Elizabeth said you were fighting it. You didn't want to shoot her, even though it was just a stunner, and you tried not to close down the gate shield."

"But…I nearly did."

"Yeah, but the fact you fought it bought enough time for Ronon to sneak up on you and stun you…again. Something he's not too happy about, by the way, as it's getting to be a regular habit."

"They didn't get through?"

"No. And the wormhole disengaged shortly after you were stunned."

"They…I think they know what I know…"

"It would seem that way." This was Carson, who had arrived at his bed. "It seems that the neural web, or whatever it is, activated, causing you to respond to it. Radek was able to get some interesting data whilst it was still active. It seems to have deactivated itself again for now."

"Can it be stopped from happening again?" he said.

"From what I can gather, when the web is active, whoever is behind this can see and hear everything you can. They can also communicate with you, give you orders. Orders you are compelled to obey. Now that it has deactivated, the two-way communication has been stopped." Carson sighed. "But no one had been able to work out how to stop it from reactivating, or stop the communication from occurring if it does. Or find a way to remove it without causing serious brain damage."

"So, you have to keep me prisoner," he stated flatly.

"I'm sorry, Rodney," Sheppard said. "I really am."

"I know. So am I." He closed his eyes briefly. "If it wasn't part organic, then the EM field on Keras' world would protect me. Not that I would want to be exiled there." He looked at the colonel. "So, I guess I'll be seeing one of those cells from the inside, then?"

"Just until we figure this out," Sheppard said, hating every word.

Rodney gave a hollow laugh.

"_If_ it can be figured out. It's okay. I know, you have no choice. So, when do I get to see my new room?"

"I want to keep an eye on you for a while," Carson said. "So not until tomorrow."

"Okay." He closed his eyes. "Tired," he muttered.

"Rest then," he heard Carson say, before sleep claimed him.

* * *

Rodney was 'settled' into the cell, with books to read, and a laptop with the implant data on it. He was glad they had allowed him something to work on.

Several days passed, and he was giving up any hope of being able to remove or incapacitate the implants. He was beginning to think he was going to spend the rest of his life locked up amongst friends.

And that hurt. It hurt knowing that he couldn't be trusted. That he could hurt people if the web was activated. That he would have little control over his actions, if any. It hurt to see his friends, but not be able to join them for those little activities he had taken for granted. Sharing meals, watching that stupid football game, or other stupid DVDs that Sheppard had brought back from Earth with him, being dragged down to the gym every so often and forced to work out, even do some sparring; just being with them. Hanging out.

He would never be able to live a normal life again. Never be able to do anything without several guards around him. He was beginning to lose all hope of a solution.

* * *

A ship, that must have been cloaked, appeared suddenly above Atlantis. A few moments later, two people beamed down into the Control Room and immediately rendered the guards unconscious.

Elizabeth came out of her office, as the first person, a female, spoke.

"Where is the one who was taken?"

"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked. "What do you want?"

"We are the Nerindi. People who we took in as refugees stole some of our technology. One of your people was taken by force, and the technology implanted into him. Those responsible for this have been imprisoned. Now, we have come to reclaim what it ours, and free your man."

"How do we know you're telling the truth? Forgive me for doubting you, but your actions…"

"We have merely rendered your warriors unconscious, so that they would not fire on us. Time is important. And time is running out for the one who was taken. The one called McKay."

"What do you mean, his time is running out?"

"The implants will kill him if they are not removed in time."

"I have found him," the other Nerindi, a man, spoke as he looked up from some type of scanner.

"Good."

A voice came over the comm, saying that a beam had taken McKay from his cell.

"He will be returned to you unharmed once we have removed the implants," the female said, and then a beam took the two Nerindi away.

Elizabeth called Colonel Sheppard and his team to the Control Room, as well as Beckett. After a short discussion, Sheppard and his team took a jumper up towards the Nerindi ship, ready to use force if necessary to demand McKay's return.

However, as they approached the ship, they were caught in some type of traction beam and pulled onboard. When they attempted to leave the jumper, they found the door jammed. They were stuck.

An hour passed, and Sheppard was getting extremely pissed at events, when Rodney was beamed aboard the jumper. He was unconscious, but seemed unharmed. The traction beam activated and placed the jumper outside the ship, and Sheppard had to take control. The Nerindi ship then cloaked and, hopefully, left. They returned to Atlantis.

* * *

"…the implants are gone. No sign they were ever there."

He recognised Carson's voice close by.

"So, he's okay?"

That was Sheppard.

"Yes, at least physically. I've no idea about the emotional turmoil he's been through, but he's nothing if not resilient."

"I'll ask Kate to schedule some sessions with him."

And that was Elizabeth.

Okay, guess it was time he opened his eyes. Hmm, they didn't want to open. Well, tough. Slowly, he managed to open one eye, and then the other. Keeping them open, however, was another thing altogether. Damn.

And then memories started hit him. Over two months worth of them. Crap. His eyes shot open, this time adrenalin overcoming the fatigue. He tried to sit up, but his body wasn't happy with that idea.

"Hey, McKay, calm down!" He felt Sheppard put a hand on his chest, holding him down. "Just take it easy. You're okay."

"I remember…" he managed to say, wincing at how hoarse his throat was.

"Easy now." Sheppard patted his chest. "Just take it slowly."

He felt someone take his pulse, Carson presumably. He twisted his arm, and grabbed him, holding on as the memories assailed him. He felt Carson move his hand into his, letting him hold on. He was vaguely aware of reassuring noises from the people around him. And slowly, he felt himself start to relax, to calm down. He was safe.

He pulled his hand out of Carson's, embarrassed now at the need to hang onto someone.

"I remember," he said again, more calmly this time. "They were Genii. But not."

"The ones who took you?" Sheppard asked gently.

"Yes. They said they had left their home world, that they were working for themselves now. I remember the implants. It hurt, when I woke up from the operation, it hurt. A lot. And then they were asking questions, and I couldn't stay quiet. I had to answer them." He looked round, wildly, trying to remain calm. "They asked about Atlantis, the jumpers, the ATA gene. I told them so much. About how things worked.

"And then they wanted me to design them new computers. More powerful ones. And I did." He felt ill as the memories became clearer. "I built them better computers. Designed weapons. I'm sorry…I couldn't fight them. I had to obey. I didn't want to help them, but I had to obey. I'm sorry…"

"It was not your fault, Rodney," Elizabeth stated.

"But…"

"No buts," Sheppard interrupted. "Not your fault."

"When they decided to take Atlantis, I was the one who helped plan it. They used my knowledge of the city, and of how you would react. They used me to plan their attack."

"Still not your fault," Sheppard stated bluntly.

"Why didn't I remember?"

"We think the implants suppressed your memory," Carson told him.

"Do you remember anything about being on the Nerindi ship?" Elizabeth asked gently.

"Yes. They beamed me onboard. I think it was some kind of med-bay. They told me that the technology had been stolen from them and that the ones responsible had been imprisoned and won't be a threat to us again."

"That's something," Sheppard muttered.

"Then…I don't remember anything until I woke up just now. The implants are gone, aren't they?"

"Yes, they're gone. No trace they were even there. These Nerindi are obviously a very advanced race. Pity we weren't able to find out more about them."

"I don't think they wanted us to know anything about them," he said, frowning in concentration, trying to remember. "They said…they said we were not ready to meet them. Or something like that."

"Sounds a bit like the Nox. Only in that case we were considered to be too 'young'," Elizabeth pondered.

"Yes, it was something like that," he said. "I don't think we'll be seeing them again, or at least not anytime soon."

"Maybe as well. They seemed to be severely lacking in the social niceties," Sheppard noted, adding wryly, "Perhaps that's a trait of all true geniuses," he said, smirking at Rodney, who rolled his eyes back at him.

"Funny," he muttered.

They talked for a few minutes more, and then Beckett insisted that Rodney needed his rest. Elizabeth took the hint and left, but Sheppard merely pulled up a chair, picking up a book from a nearby table. Rodney smiled, secretly glad that Sheppard had remained. He closed his eyes, drifting into a deep sleep, content with the knowledge that he was back amongst his friends, and he was safe, and he was free.

The End


End file.
